More Pieces (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)
by ilna
Summary: More pieces fall into place for the upcoming wedding.


**Notes:** Mari and Sammy – Thank you for always knowing what I need to hear and when. You guys are the best!

Readers and REAL McRollers – Your support and enthusiasm continue to thrill me and are always appreciated!

 **I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

 _More Pieces (A McRoll in the REAL World Story)_

"What do you mean you're not eating?" Kamekona asked as he stood next to one of the tables by his shrimp truck where Danny and Chin sat.

"Gabby and I are getting dinner in a half hour," Danny told him.

Kamekona looked at his truck. "You know I serve a delicious dinner right here."

"I do know that," Danny said pointedly. "You might recall we were here just a few days ago."

"My auntie says you can't have too much of a good thing."

"Mine says absence makes the heart grow fonder." He looked at Chin beside him. "But don't let me stop you."

Chin smiled. "I'll wait for Steve and Catherine."

"Here they come," Kamekona said, nodding over Chin's shoulder. He grinned as Steve and Catherine joined them. "It's the Big Kahuna and his bride-to-be." He looked at Catherine. "Hey, I got a question for you, can I call you Mrs. Kahuna after the wedding?"

"Uh . . . no," she replied and smiled sweetly as she sat down across from Danny and Chin. "But you can call me Catherine."

Steve chuckled at her response and sat beside her.

"Fair enough," Kamekona said and continued without missing a beat. "I got another question. You hire a wedding planner yet?"

"Looking to broaden your business interests, big guy?" Danny asked.

"It's called 'diversifying,' brah."

Chin smiled broadly, and Danny snorted. "You've got a shrimp truck and a helicopter, that's not diverse enough for you?"

"You always gotta look for opportunities to stay relevant, you know what I mean?"

"I'm a cop, I'm pretty sure I'll always be relevant."

"To answer your question," Catherine said, looking up at Kamekona, "yes, we do have someone coordinating the wedding. Boris from the Ko Olina and his assistant Gus have things under control."

"What about food?" Kamekona motioned to the shrimp truck. "I offer some fine catering options for all your event needs."

"We know," Steve said, amused at the entrepreneur's easy transition. He and Catherine shared a look.

"But that's not what we want," she said. She reached across the table to touch Kamekona's hand. "What we want is you at our wedding as our _guest_. Celebrating with us. Not working."

Kamekona straightened, looking surprised and touched.

"What do you say?" Steve asked.

A slow smile spread across Kamekona's face as he nodded. "I say that's a celebration I'm not going to miss."

"Excellent," Steve said.

There was a gleam in his eye when he continued, "And I say nothing beats shrimp plates at a rehearsal dinner."

Steve grinned, exchanging another look with Catherine. "We won't say no to that."

She smiled brightly at Kamekona. "We were thinking the same thing."

He beamed back. "It'll be an unforgettable meal. You've got my 100% guarantee."

"We're counting on it," Steve said.

"Speaking of meals," Chin said, looking at Steve and Catherine. "I'm starving. You guys ready to eat?"

"Definitely," Catherine agreed.

Steve nodded. "The usual?" he asked with a look at Catherine and Chin as he started to stand.

Kamekona held up a hand to forestall Steve as the other two nodded. "Coming right up," he said, heading back toward the truck.

"I got a text from Kono," Catherine said after they'd called their thanks. "She and Adam made it to Maui."

Chin nodded. "I got one, too. Probably the last we'll hear from her."

"She was looking forward to a couple uninterrupted days," Catherine said. She looked at Danny. "What are you and Gabby doing tonight?"

"Dinner and a movie. You?"

"We're headed to the Allens after this," Catherine said. "We talked to Jenna yesterday about them being involved in the wedding, so now it's time to ask the kids."

Danny and Chin smiled broadly.

"I can hear Jacob now," Chin said.

* * *

"Mom said Cody's in the wedding!" Jacob cried as soon as Steve and Catherine stepped inside the Allen's house. "Are we gonna be in the wedding, too?"

"Jacob, that's not really polite to ask . . ." Jenna said from the doorway to the kitchen.

"Although that _is_ what we came here to talk to you guys about," Catherine said as Casey and Dylan came down the stairs into the living room.

Kaitlyn looked up hopefully from the coffee table where Cody was helping her with her homework.

Jenna smiled, walking across the room to join them. "I haven't said anything since we talked," she told Steve and Catherine. "Though it was hard not to."

"What's 'in the wedding' mean again?" Jacob asked, looking over at Cody and then his mother.

"It means . . . having something important to do during the wedding," Jenna said.

"Like a job?" Jacob asked, turning back to Steve and Catherine.

"Kind of," Steve said.

Catherine nodded. "We want the special people in our lives at the wedding to do those important jobs."

"Ohh," Jacob said. "Like what?"

"Well," Steve said, kneeling down next to him, "for starters, we were hoping you'd be our ring guy."

Jacob looked confused, but interested. "Ring guy?"

"Yeah," Catherine continued. "Since you were the one who gave Uncle Steve the purple ring he used after he first proposed, we thought you should be the one to bring the wedding rings down the aisle."

"The _rings?_ " Jacob asked. "There's two of them?"

Steve nodded. "Yeah, one for Aunt Catherine and one for me."

"That's a really special, serious job, honey," Jenna said, running a hand over his hair.

"Yeah, the rings are super important," Casey added.

Jacob's eyes opened wide. "Maybe . . ." he began a little uncertainly, looking back at his brother. "Maybe Cody should come with me."

Cody stood and stepped over to him, putting a hand on his shoulder and squeezing gently. "I'm gonna have another job that day, Jake," he said. He looked over at Steve.

"Yeah, Cody's gonna be up front with me," Steve said. "He's one of my groomsmen."

"I could go with you, Jacob," Kaitlyn offered, moving to his other side. "If you want."

Jacob grinned, both relieved and excited. "Yeah! And you could hold one of the rings so I don't drop them. Since they're really important. You could be a ring girl!"

Kaitlyn's eyes lit up, and she looked at Steve and Catherine. "Is that okay?"

Catherine smiled. "I think that's a great idea."

"And Dylan and Casey should come with us, too," Jacob said. "Just in case."

"It's . . . it's really not that long an aisle you have to walk down, buddy," Steve said.

Jacob looked at him seriously. "But it's super important, right? Like Casey said?"

"It is," Steve said with a nod.

Catherine put a hand on Jacob's arm. "And we know you can do it." She smiled at Kaitlyn. "The two of you together."

Kaitlyn straightened proudly.

"Besides," Steve continued, standing and looking at the older kids. "We have another important job we'd like to ask Casey and Dylan to do."

"You do?" Dylan asked.

"Actually, a couple jobs," Steve said.

Catherine nodded. "We're hoping you'll greet all the guests as they come in," she said and nodded to Jenna. "Along with your mom and a couple other special people."

"And then there are some VIPs who will need to be escorted to their seats at the start of the ceremony," Steve said.

"VIPs?" Jacob asked.

"Very Important People?" Dylan said, his eyebrows shooting up. "Like the president?"

Steve chuckled. "No, not like the president." He winked. "Think more important."

"Grandma Ang and Nonna," Catherine said, smiling.

Jacob jumped. "The grandmas!" he cried.

Steve laughed. "That's right." He looked at Casey and Dylan. "After the other guests are seated, we'd like the two of you to walk them down the aisle to their seats at the front."

Casey and Dylan grinned at each other.

"Will you do that for us?" Steve asked.

"Yeah," Dylan said.

Casey nodded. "Definitely."

Steve took a step over, nudging Dylan with an elbow. "That does mean you'll be sitting pretty close when we get to the kissing part," he teased.

Dylan shuffled a foot, glancing down with a smile. "That's okay," he said and looked up. "It'll be worth it to be by Grandma Ang and Nonna."

Steve smiled and patted his shoulder.

"Hey, Uncle Steve, Aunt Catherine," Katilyn began.

"Yeah, honey?" Catherine asked.

"You said you're gonna have the people who are important to you in the wedding, right?"

Catherine nodded. "That's right."

Kaitlyn paused, biting her lip, finally asking, "Cammie's important to you, isn't she?"

"Yes, she is," Catherine said. "Very important."

Kaitlyn looked at them. "She should be there, too," she said earnestly.

Jenna looked at her daughter proudly, reaching over and rubbing her back.

Catherine smiled, glancing at Steve.

"You're absolutely right, Kaitlyn," he said. "And she will be."

"Ring dog!" Jacob exclaimed, pumping a fist in the air.

"I think you two will have the rings taken care of," Catherine said with an amused smile. "Cammie's going to be our flower dog."

"Ohh," Kaitlyn said, clasping her hands together. "With flowers on her collar?"

"Something like that," Catherine said. She grinned. "Esther's been hinting she has an idea."

"It's going to be a beautiful wedding," Jenna said, sighing happily. "We're so honored you want us to be a part of it."

"It's very important to us that you are," Steve said, putting an arm around Catherine's shoulders. He glanced at Cody, then looked at the whole Allen family. "All of you."

"That's right," Catherine agreed. "Thank you for saying yes."

Jacob lunged at her, hugging her around the waist before wrapping an arm around Steve and hugging them both.

"Know what?" he asked, grinning up at them. "This is gonna be the best wedding _ever!_ "

"You know, Jacob," Steve said, glancing at Catherine. "I couldn't have said it better myself."

After saying their farewells a few minutes later, Steve and Catherine headed back outside and walked toward the truck.

Steve chuckled, shaking his head slightly and looking down as they walked.

"What?" Catherine asked.

"Ring guy."

Catherine smiled. "And ring girl."

"Yeah," he said, matching her smile.

He paused as they reached the truck and turned to her. "You know, if we'd have gotten married ten years ago," he said thoughtfully. "Even five . . ."

She nodded in understanding. "It would have been a very different wedding."

"Yeah," he agreed, his eyes on hers.

They were silent for a moment, and then she reached for his hand.

"There are a lot of reasons I'm glad we're getting married now," she said. "A lot of reasons why it's the right time."

He silently brushed his thumb over her ring.

She smiled. "And one of the reasons is that we have so much family to celebrate with us."

He returned her soft smile. "Yeah."

"Like I said before, I'd marry you anytime, anyplace . . . but I'm glad we're doing it this way. Our way."

"Me, too," he said genuinely. He leaned closer, his voice quiet. "I love you."

"I love you," she returned just before their lips met, both feeling the excitement and satisfaction of more pieces falling into place.

* * *

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